Diesel prices back up after one-week decrease

By Land Line staff |
4/11/2016

The average price of a gallon of on-highway diesel had an increase of 1.3 cents from last week to $2.128 per gallon for the week ending Monday, April 11. This marks the first weekly increase after a short-lived decrease last week.

Diesel price averages went up in nine of 10 regions in the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration. The largest average increase was in the West Coast less California region, where prices at the pump rose by 2.1 cents per gallon. Prices were down six-tenths of a cent in the New England region, the only decrease in the nation.

Following are the average prices by region as reported by the EIA:

U.S. – $2.128, up 1.3 cents

East Coast – $2.187, up eight-tenths of a cent

New England – $2.237, down six-tenths of a cent

Central Atlantic – $2.301, up five-tenths of a cent

Lower Atlantic – $2.090, up 1.3 cents

Midwest – $2.082, up 1.7 cents

Gulf Coast – $1.992, up nine-tenths of a cent

Rocky Mountain – $2.142, up 1.9 cents

West Coast – $2.332, up 1.5 cents

West Coast less California – $2.200, up 2.1 cents

California – $2.437, up 1.1 cents

According to ProMiles, the average retail price at truck stops was $2.095 on Monday morning, a 1.7-cent increase from last week.

ProMiles, the software company that maintains the websites ProMiles.com and TruckMiles.com, continues to offer its own weekly fuel price information. The company’s fuel price data are presented in the same format used by the EIA in the agency’s weekly reports. The prices include a national average as well as regional averages, and comparisons to the previous week and the previous year.

A key difference between the EIA and ProMiles reporting is the type and number of fueling stations the company surveys in order to calculate its averages. While EIA surveys 400 truck stops and convenience stores nationwide, ProMiles uses its direct feed from thousands of truck stops to develop its averages.

TruckMiles.com listed the daily average price for Monday at $2.166, with truckers in Rhode Island paying an average of $2.529 per gallon, the highest in the nation. Truckers in South Carolina are paying a national low of $1.928 per gallon, according to the site. No states in the Lower 48 states have been listed in excess of $4 per gallon at the pump since Dec. 4, 2014. All 48 states in the contiguous U.S. have average prices below $3. A total of 8 states are reporting prices below $2, one fewer from last week.

In separate energy news, according to the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude (also known as West Texas Intermediate) for May delivery was trading at $40.28 at noon CDT on Monday, a $4.58 increase from last Monday and a 56-cent increase from its last trading price. The price of Brent crude oil for June settlement was listed at $42.68, a $4.99 increase from last Monday and a 74-cent increase from its last trading price.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Monday’s increase could be the result of a weakening dollar and optimism over the weekly U.S. inventory report and Sunday’s OPEC meeting regarding freezing production levels. AAA has indexed diesel prices at $2.091 for Monday, 69.9 cents cheaper than this time last year and 5.4 cents higher than a month ago.